Vienna, 23 August 2022 – The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) presented its Industrial Development Report (IDR) 2022: The future of industrialization in a post-pandemic world at a side event of the Eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD8).

“Working together in global cooperation is of utmost importance to build a more resilient future”, said UNIDO Director General Gerd Müller in his pre-recorded opening statement. “As the global economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, African countries face major challenges related to climate change and soaring food and energy prices. I call for an industrial development that is inclusive and sustainable to build dynamic, innovative and people-centered economies”.

The event provided the opportunity to discuss and reflect on future courses of action for Africa to build back better from the crisis in terms of policymaking, development practices, research, and advocacy.

“One of the IDR’s key findings is that countries with stronger industrial capabilities were more resilient to the economic impact”, said Nobuya Haraguchi, Chief of UNIDO’s Industrial Policy Research Unit during his presentation. “The report also identifies three megatrends that are changing the process of industrial development: industrial digitalization and automation; global production rebalancing; and industrial greening”.

The report also investigates the COVID-19 impact at the country, industry, and firm level and provides policy recommendations. A key message of the IDR is that Africa needs to accelerate industrial development, not only to achieve economic development but also to strengthen resilience.

“Policymakers in African governments should consider that strategies have changed in light of the megatrends identified in the Report when implementing measures to face these challenges”, said Carlos Lopes, Professor at the University of Cape Town. “It becomes very clear now that we have a different world emerging, one where Global Value Chains (GVCs) are going to be revaluated. African countries, as latecomers of GVCs, will need to prepare themselves very quickly to respond to these changes and seize opportunities”.

Building on the findings of the IDR, which also underscore the importance of advanced digital technologies in strengthening resilience and curving the impact of the crisis, the University of Johannesburg further emphasized the role that digitalization can play in fostering industrial development in Africa.

“Digitalization is important for industrialization, structural change, and for catching up in various ways - through increases in productivity, competitiveness, product complexity, and upgrading in GVCs”, said Fiona Tregenna, Professor at the University of Johannesburg and South African Research Chair in Industrial Development. “This is particularly crucial for late industrializers, like African countries”.

The COVID-19 crisis and current inflation in food prices have pushed thousands of people into poverty, especially in Africa, and the Ivorian Economic and Social Research Center (ESCR) provided additional insights on the actions that African governments can take to address this situation.

“Based on my experience in the field, implementing loans at low-interest rates and tax reliefs to both formal and informal firms is crucial to expand the manufacturing sector”, said Alban Ahoure, Professor and Director of the Economic Policy Analysis Unit at the ESCR. “In turn, this offers higher labor productivity, salaries, and revenues”.

The event also benefitted from the insights of Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation of Egypt, whose pre-recorded contributions can be viewed here.

“Egypt’s current and upcoming government action plans showcase the overarching commitment towards investing in a well-equipped labor force, as well as adapting to the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the transition towards a sustainable, inclusive, and competitive green economy”, said Rania Al-Mashat. “In this context, the pillars related to industrial development were placed at the heart of the reform to build back better.”

The UNIDO Industrial Development Report series is an established source of reference on industrial development. The IDR 2022 is available here.

The full recording of the event is available here. 

For more information, please contact:
Alejandro Lavopa
UNIDO Research and Industrial Policy Officer
Email